hotmtlnovel Chapter 151 Growing Mushrooms
Chapter 151 Growing Mushrooms
He Lai continued to cut crops one after another, and gradually found himself lagging behind.
Awkward, he quickly sped up his sickle, he had to catch up.
There are many laborers in Mr. He's family. More than a dozen people worked together. They cut the crops for the whole morning and finished the work quickly.
He Lai looked at a large area of wheat fields that had already fallen down, wiped his sweat, and straightened his waist. Farmers are really hard-working! He had only been cutting for a short while, and his back was already a little hard from the sun.
"Big Tiger's wife, you take Xiao Laizi back to help with the cooking. We can take care of the rest."
Mr. He ordered.
"I got it, Grandpa."
Li Xiulan put down the wheat in her hand and said to He Lai.
"Let's go, little one."
"Oh." He Lai agreed as he looked at the somewhat familiar face.
……
On the way, He Lai and Li Xiulan started chatting.
"Sister-in-law, I seem to have seen you somewhere before. But I can't remember where."
He Lai looked at Li Xiulan's pretty face and said slowly.
"Really? I'm not sure either. I have no impression. I've been in Lijia Village all the time and haven't been out much. Have you been there?" Li Xiulan said in surprise.
"No, maybe I remembered it wrong. Forget it, maybe we were relatives in our previous life, so when I saw you, I felt a bit like déjà vu." He Lai said with a smile and walked away quickly.
Li Xiulan also smiled and watched the talented son of the He family walk away step by step, and she followed suit.
……
"Grandma, why are you stewing the chicken again? If you do this, your grandson won't dare to come back."
He Lai smelled the aroma of chicken and said to Old Mrs. He in the kitchen.
"Nonsense, what's wrong with grandma stewing a chicken for her grandson? You haven't come back once in the past six months." Old Mrs. He also scolded with a smile, and brought out a bowl of water for He Lai.
At this time, Li Xiulan also entered the yard.
"Xiu Lan, come into the kitchen and drink some water. Don't get tired." Old Mrs. He also called Li Xiu Lan. After all, she was the new daughter-in-law, so she had to take care of her.
"Thank you, grandma." Li Xiulan thanked her and went to the kitchen.
Soon the three of them began to set the table and waited for everyone to come back.
"Xiao Laizi, I heard from Grandpa that you are planning to grow mushrooms this time?"
Old Mrs. He asked.
"Yes, grandma, I brought everything with me. We will have mushrooms to eat at home from now on."
He Lai was also very happy when he mentioned mushrooms. It was finally time to get started.
"Okay, grandma, just wait. My grandson is really capable." Grandma He also smiled happily.
Li Xiulan also knew that He Lai came back this time to grow mushrooms. It was really rare that mushrooms could be grown. These city kids were really amazing.
……
Not long after, Mr. He came back with his men.
"Grandpa, is everything ready?" He Lai quickly stood up and got stools for Grandpa and the others.
"They are all tied up. When the time comes, just let them carry them back to dry in the sun. Let's eat, everyone."
Grandpa He waved his chopsticks and invited everyone to eat. They were hungry after working all morning.
Soon everyone started eating the steamed corn bread. From time to time, they would come to the table to pick up some meat, and then sit back on the small stools and eat with their heads down.
……
After dinner, everyone except the old couple went to dry the wheat.
"Xiao Laizi, are you going to start growing mushrooms when you come back this time?" Grandpa He was obviously very concerned about this matter.
"Yes, Grandpa, please go get some lime, grandson, to disinfect the corn cobs." He Lai said.
"What, lime, disinfection, will this work?" Mr. He didn't quite understand and asked.
"Oh, Grandpa, I can't explain it to you clearly, but my grandson needs lime, it's useful!"
He Lai didn't want to explain too much to the older generation, it was too troublesome, so it was more reliable to just give them instructions directly.
"Listen to Xiao Laizi, go quickly and don't delay Xiao Laizi's business." When Grandma He saw that her eldest grandson didn't want to explain, she quickly sent the old man to get lime.
"Okay, okay, stop pushing me, I'll go now." Old Man He was driven out by Old Lady He.
"Grandma, take out all the empty water jars in our house. I want to use them to soak the corn cobs." He Lai instructed Grandma He.
"Okay, there is one at home. Let's go and move it out." Old Mrs. He also got up and took He Lai to move it.
"Grandma, one may not be enough, how about finding a few more?" He Lai felt that this tank was a little small. He should have asked Grandpa He to build a small pool earlier.
"Okay, come with grandma to your eldest uncle's and second uncle's house. I'm sure they have it there." Old Mrs. He always agreed to He Lai's requests.
Soon three large vats were placed against the courtyard wall.
"Grandma, let's add water first. When Grandpa brings back the lime, we can just put it in and stir it."
He Lai said.
"Okay, then let's go fetch some water." Old Mrs. He took out a bucket and a shoulder pole from the kitchen.
"Grandma, I'll carry it. Just take me with you. Your grandson has enough strength now." He Lai took a look and quickly took over the bucket.
"Okay, let's go together, let's go together." Old Mrs. He took He Lai and walked towards the well.
After a few trips, the water tank was almost filled.
Mr. He also came back with lime.
"Xiao Laizi, take a look and see if it's enough. If not, I'll get more." Grandpa He opened the bag and showed it to He.
"Grandpa, that should be enough. I'll pour it, and you stir it with a stick while Grandpa goes and gets the corn cobs."
He Lai started to divide the work.
Soon all three jars were filled with corn cobs and immersed in lime water. He Lai found a wooden board to press the opening.
"That's it. Soaking for a day and a night will be enough."
He Lai and the other two sat in the yard to rest.
"Xiao Laizi, when grandpa sees you giving orders, I don't know what's going on in my heart, but I'm full of energy." Grandpa He said with a smile.
"Grandpa, this is the power of knowledge. Just wait and see. When the mushrooms grow, you will know what a miracle is."
He Lai also smiled and thought that if mushrooms became popular by then, would it be able to alleviate some of the natural disasters.
"Okay, grandpa is waiting for his grandson's miracle. Haha." Grandpa He couldn't stop smiling.
……
The next day
"Grandma, take out the corn cobs and drain them."
He Lai was in charge of the command. Now that all the women had stayed, He Lai didn't have to do anything and could just focus on the command.
Soon a pile of corn cobs was placed in a clean place to drain.
He Lai took out some newspaper from the room to use for sealing later.
"Grandma, please get some glue. We'll be sticking newspapers on it later."
"Okay, Xiulan, go and do it with grandma." Grandma He took Li Xiulan to the kitchen.
"Aunt, second aunt, bring half of this round thing in my room to this room."
He Lai pointed to the mushroom bag in his hand.
“Okay.” “Okay.”
The two of them quickly started moving the things.
"Almost done, aunt, you two should move the corn cobs in. We are about to start coding."
He Lai took the lead and picked up a basket of corn cobs and went into the house. Soon the two of them started.
He Lai directed two people to stack the corn cobs. After each layer, He Lai sprinkled a layer of mycelium and then stacked another layer of corn cobs. This went on for five layers.
He Lai sprinkled some more mycelium on the last layer, after all, it was the mycelium that the mushrooms depended on, and finally covered it with a layer of wood ash.
"Grandma, is the paste ready? Please bring it in together with the newspaper." He Lai shouted.
"Here we are." Grandma He and Li Xiulan also came in with paste and newspapers.
"Spread the newspapers out, and use glue to seal the gaps. Make sure every spot is sealed well." He Lai instructed everyone to spread the newspapers.
"Okay, just leave it to grandma. There will definitely be no seams at all." Grandma He also laid the floor carefully.
"Grandma, you can put down a few more layers. There are still newspapers. This way it will be more airtight."
He Lai gave an instruction.
"Okay. I got it."
……
After everything was done, everyone rested and chatted in the yard.
"Xiao Laizi, how long will it take for mushrooms to grow?" The aunt asked something that everyone wanted to know.
"What I brought is fresh mycelium. The weather is pretty good now. I estimate it will take about half a month." He Lai estimated the growth rate of the mycelium.
I remember that it took two months to grow mycelium from the old spawn block in my previous life. How could this new mycelium grow much faster?
"Okay, Xiao Laizi's words are enough." Old Mrs. He also spoke.